In a grand British tradition . . . but . . .

Rating: Null/10 (21 July 2003)

I agree with John Taylor. My reaction was highly mixed.
The good: This story walks the path of British catastrophe fiction which may go back to the late 1890s: THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. I also recall AFTER LONDON. There are elements of John Wyndham here -- the hospital scene is straight out of TRIFIDS (the book, not the awful film). This also reminds one of NO BLADE OF GRASS (the fine book and the somewhat lesser film). Do not forget Jack London's sturm und drang THE SCARLET PLAGUE. There is a cautionary element about biological experiments, and especially how well-meaning protesters can get in over their heads and put everyone else in it. We see the disintegration, then the perversion of state authority.
The bad: They wanted to make a scary monster movie, fine. ALIEN(S) is such, but here we are definitely long on spook/gore and short on realism -- although, yes, it can be a white knuckle operation. 28 DAYS tries too hard. There are two sequences which are superfluous, all for the chills. The chained experimental subject -- rather too heavy on cultural symbolism -- is totally unnecessary. Then the disease: The etiology indicates a massive assault on the central nervous system with serious secondary gastro-intestinal effects. 1) The onset of symptoms is rapid beyond belief even for story purposes. 2) One should also expect motor dysfunction after personality disintegration, increasing steadily with the victim helpless. 3) The upper G.I. damage in many subjects would lead to dehydration (at least) and possible internal haemorrhage, which is what it looks like.
Also: I note how two potentially inconvenient characters . . . go away. I further note how the film correctly gives credit to the racially mixed society of modern Britian, but grow weary of yet another kick-butt improbable heroine in deference to contemporary feminism. Finally, the communications options -- necessary for plot and denouement -- are twenty years out of date.
And OH! 28 DAYS was made with some kind of digital system, fine, but the movie house put it on a large screen which degraded the image and frankly hurt the eyes. This is not the fault of the film makers. Its title remains a mystery. The lunar synodic period is twenty-nine days, if one is alluding to the appropriate legend.